They keep asking it, just in slightly more subtle ways like, "What's your response to the officials saying the President's wiretapping claim has no basis in reality?" Spicer's going to have an aneurysm on live TV at this rate.

In response "... we're a very powerful company - country - we're a very stroooong, very strong country."

Oops.

Fucking hell he legitimately thinks that he's running a company. Which is exactly why all his policies are designed to increase his personal wealth. Fuck this moron.

.... and she is not allowed to come back or ask more questions in the future. That is how the White House deals with criticism these days.

Another German reporter was more aggressive with Trump, asking why he is "so scared of diversity in the news and the media that you speak so often of a ‘fake news’ and that things that in the end cannot be proven, like for the fact that you were wiretapped by Mr. Obama."
“Nice, friendly reporter,” Trump said.
. . .
“So I don't know what newspaper you are reading, but I guess that would be another example of, as you say, fake news,” Trump said.

I can't believe that I let this mans actions continue to make me sick to my stomach every day. She was referring to a tweet he made and he says it's fake news. And nobody calls him out for that we just fucking let it go. What in the actual fuck is happening to America?

He's already wearing a human suit.

They can ask the hard but obvious questions bc they know could never be banned from any spicer briefings. I implore all foreign visiting reporters to ask trump these type of questions that could have otherwise resulted in retaliation by the current administration.

edit: actually writing out the last part made me realise yet again how absurd this is.

What? Not at all. I'd argue instead that more real journalists are rising to the surface now because of this fiasco of a presidency, they just aren't the ones asking questions to the president directly because of necessity.

However, the reason that reporters don't ask these questions to Trump in person is understandable if you have the proper perspective. If you did something like this, you risk not only getting your personal access blacklisted for something like this but also the publication you work for.

That is why instead of "Why do you keep saying things you know aren't true?" You hear questions like, "Can you explain why you believe XXXX?" They know (and everyone else knows) the answer is going to be complete bullshit, but at least they'll have a rambling nonsensical response they can quote and use while also providing fodder for the more hard-hitting journalism that isn't public facing to the administration (and who are more likely to use inside sources than direct asked and answered quotes in their journalism).

Naturally, a German reporter has no such concerns about asking Trump a question like this. She most certainly won't ever be asked a question again and very likely her publication won't ever get a reporter the chance to ask another question of Trump. But what do they care? They don't.

Edit: bad grammar

I wish it did anything. It's sadly so commonplace now that no matter how much we make fun of it, it won't affect him.

"What the hell do you mean, checks or balances? I'm supposed to have VP's at my company that commit insubordination on a daily basis, without firing their asses? Oh, so they're called Judges here, OK, what's the damn difference?"

Our reporters are called "fake news" and rarely called upon for a question.

If they asked this how often do you think they would be called upon?

It really shook Merkel. Imagine being the chancellor of German during a diplomatic event and hearing your translator say "lügenpresse".

As to why reporters here don't ask him that: When does Trump ever take questions from reporters here? At his only press conference I can think of he flipped out at totally normal questions.

The only way he can exist is by not taking questions. Didn't he stop doing press conferences here April of last year? His insanity can only exist by not being questioned. At even the flimsiest challenge it completely falls apart.

what all the smart people said would happen if we elected this racist psychopathic piece of shit, the country and economy will collapse.

This is what I don't get. So what? He speaks in word salad and lies. Go outside and report on reality. Consign Trump and his minions to sideshow status.

It would be better if he were wearing a bunny suit.

"Mike Pence, what exactly are you the VP of again?"

"The... country?"

"Yes but what division of the company? I mean country. Sales? War? The wall?"

"......."

I think Italy is busy doing Italian stuff. They kinda phoned it in last time

Can we get past this stage? I've seen this sentiment at least a thousand times. Let's move on from "How sad is it that I'm not even surprised" to you know, genuinely being appalled

So our journalists have become gutless and complicit. Explains a lot I guess.

My guess would be "FAKE NEWS!" -Trump.

Them, Japan and Italy, maybe?

We live in a more anti-intellectual world now, where people are tired of experts and reject reason in favor of propaganda. It's a plague and I don't know how it can be countered.

made me realise yet again how absurd this is.

it's unprecedented behaviour by an unpresident

Particularly as the only people in Germany currently using the phrase are supporters of the far-right, fascist AfD.

You've got this backwards.

If you don't presuppose Trump is purposely lying, you give his defenders free reign to debate and legitimize the issue and control the narrative. By questioning the intent of the lie instead of the content, you're not allowing the statement to establish roots. While it does put them on the defensive, the alternative is allowing them to continue peddling bullshit.

There was a good post about this a few months back.

When looking at Trump's lies, ask why he's lying. His lies reveal what he believes needs to be true in order to justify his goals.

The majority of Mexicans coming to the country are criminals --> needs to be true to justify the border wall.

Muslims are at war with America --> needs to be true to justify the muslim immigration ban

The elections were rigged --> needs to be true to destabilize the political process in future elections? Or spur more voter suppression efforts in state across america?

The essential characteristic of fascist propaganda was never its lies, for this is something
more or less common to propaganda everywhere and of every time. The
essential thing was that they exploited the age-old Occidental prejudice
which confuses reality with truth, and made that "true" which until
then could only be stated as a lie. It is for this reason that any argu-
mentation with fascists — the so-called counter-propaganda — is so ex-
tremely senseless: it is as though one were to debate with a potential
murderer as to whether his future victim were dead or alive, completely
forgetting that man can kill and that the murderer, by killing the per-
son in question, could promptly provide proof of the correctness of this
statement.

what they said: "Why do you keep saying things you know are not true?"

What I don't get is why the media is allowing the asking of questions to be a privilege the White House can revoke. Interaction with the media is how the White House (or any government for that matter) gets it's message across to the public and is able to sell it's actions.

The media need to grow a pair. If the White House is ignoring their questions, explain why. There are a lot of loaded questions to be asked, questions the answer is already known, so fucking ask them! And when they don't get answered, report on why.

The media needs to show some real leadership, and do it's god damn job. Just like how the Broncos need to hurry up and sign Kaepernick.

Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

When I see a trump bumper sticker in public I am embarrassed. Everyone should feel that way in my opinion. Pure embarrassment.

"Fake country, doesn't exist, sad!"

I think you're right. That is definitely not a phrase you want or expect to hear in a non-historical context.

If it weren't so terrifying, I'd almost call it comedic irony. The President of the United States of America disturbing his counterpart and the German people by behaving like Hitler.

How many Americans died to put an end to fascist nonsense like this? How many Germans had to? Unlike us they seem to remember where this leads, and they are horrified. Only this time, they're the good guys. The world needs their leadership in combating an era of surging misplaced nationalism now more than ever. They are uniquely inoculated against it.

I think he called one of the German reporters fake news

What was the response?

I only watched a bit of it because I felt myself losing brain cells, but didn't he then comment something like "Nice reporter" to her sarcastically? Newsflash, Trump, it's a reporter's job to be tough on you.

Because the stupid shit he says and the baseless accusations he makes won't get him removed from office. His actions can.

Reporters should stop reporting on what they say, and just report on what they do. Every press conference should be to an empty room.

Er, no? It's not about more or less words. It's about getting a statement without influencing the answer. While her question's fun, it presupposes Trump actually knows he's lying rather than just an idiot and immediately puts him on the defense against a vague accusation rather than any specific point.

I'm waiting for the day he just starts crying hysterically and quits

Have you ever had proper german food? Its fantastic

While yelling at the reporters, calling them lugenpresse.

He already uses the English translation of that Nazi term: fake news.

Reelection is a definite.

That's a bold claim. What's your reasoning?

Pretty weird that now the only press conferences he will have are when he is forced into it by a visiting dignitary.

When you already know the answers to the questions you're asking, what does it matter if they go unanswered? Just fucking report on the facts! Don't give the White House it's opportunity to put its spin on it.

"We're a very powerful company- country." That statement alone deserves its own thread.

Did you see on Thursday when a reporter got their turn to ask a question and she said she would like to give her question to the NYT reporter (because Spicer would not call on them). Spicer refused.

AMA request: German reporter.

Because the smart man suit cost 3 extra pfellargles.

How the fuck can your company's credentials be fucking "revoked" because you asked a question the president didn't like? Can you even hear yourself saying something so deeply fucking unamerican as that?

At this point, everything he says is fanatical tinder for his cult and cult alone. He no longer chooses to recognize anything beyond his rallies as meaningful.

I know this is said to death, but this is how people must've felt watching hitler take the reigns of power. It started as silliness, morphed into absurdity, then shock, outrage, and finally resting in abject horror.

Trump is like a virus or infection plaguing our culture. White nationalism is the song and it's caught fire once again. I say this as an atheist, God help us all.

It happened once. The idiots aren't getting any quieter. If anything they have learned that doubling down on ignorance has no consequence.

Every branch is under control.

Rampant Gerrymandering.

The iminent control and subjugation of free press.

Etc

Leave the bubble of Reddit. See how they think. Those that voted "won" and stopped paying attention. They won't wake up again until 2020 when it will be even easier to manipulate them.

Yeah, but did you watch the thing? She has an earpiece in. Makes sense to have an interpreter especially when listening to Trump

At this point I'm convinced the man has some form of dementia. He's fucking falling apart mentally.

Didn't he just snub shaking Merkal's hand?

She speaks English.

journalists, don't mollycoddle them, tell it as it is, call them liars​ to their face, call them a disgrace, walk out of their conferences when they lie, shoe them like bush, don't turn up next time, do to them what Mark Lamarr did to shabba ranks

that is exactly it, it's people striving for answers with logic, reason and science, against people unwilling to learn, scared and mentally deficient.

education is key, strive to teach the young science, logical problem solving, it's a game of tug of war, that the millennial generation embraced social democracy (bernie) is a great sign, it's a question of will the morons sink the ship before the next generation gets it turn at the wheel.

For some reason, that just made me realize that the countries that made up the Axis powers are now the countries that I enjoy food from the most. That's kinda strange.

Yeah, she doesn't speak crazy.

Far from. Having a Press pass to the White House is not easy to get, They're tactful at not over stepping their boundaries and not getting 86'd.

However, I can't think of anything more satisfying right now than Trump being called out on his bullshit.

If we could get him under oath in front of a Congressional hearing it would be beyond epic how the Democrats would just literally rip him on his bullshit with nowhere to run.

Because if they do they're called fake news and asked not to come back to the WH. It's easier to phrase the question in a less condescending way and let Trump hang himself after he starts spewing bullshit.

I knew it was my ears playing tricks on me for a second, but I almost wanted to believe it was a Freudian slip.

That you are Donald. You are a traitor.

That is bad journalism. You need the fewest words possible, and there needs to be one clear ask. Hers was perfect.

The Germans weren't saved from Fascism. Europe was saved from Fascism.

Around 25 % of eligible voters chose Trump. Roughly 45 % did not vote. Trump won the electoral college thanks to less than 100k voters in a few key states.

You are correct that the die-hard Trumpets will not change their mind. But do you really think that enough of the apathetic vote will think this is fine for Trump to get re-elected? Also, those voters in the key states I mentioned, I doubt their life will get any better in the next four years. Some of them will regret their vote.

But then again, you might be right. I personally have little faith in the average American (am a filthy foreigner). They might choose Trump again.

Not yet, but he did accuse one reporter of reading "fake news".

I'm just waiting for his live TV breakdown. Can he lick boots/balls for 8+ years?

We should have foreign dignitaries visit more often.

Lets hope they don't have to. I intend to keep my own house in order, even if there is a grease fire in the kitchen right now.

EDIT: I still can't believe I'm living in a reality where I can contemplate things getting so bad that the rest of the world has to play the role of the Allies in taking down a Facist America. The really scary part? With our military spending, I'm not sure they could.

He'll project and make some shitty comment about them being Nazis.

8+??!!

... Why wouldn't Spicer ban ybem? The BBC was one of the media orgs banned from that recent gaggle

Good for her, Trump plays the American media as a bitch.

Breitbart and Fox online. The TRUE reporters!

Being called a liar must have set off a pavlovian response.

I don't agree.

You can get maybe one soundbite by being a smartass in the media room, and then you get the credentials revoked for your entire company. Would that be worth it? No. As it is, we know Spicy et al had a meeting where they keep out media they don't like. It happened once, and may well happen again.

As it is, good journalism isn't dependent on gotcha questions in press briefings, which is mostly a formality anyway. Most newspapers and tv channels have sources inside the WH, there's whistleblowing, etc etc. That is independent of showing up to the press briefing. The Watergate reporters worked at their desks. Losing press briefing attending rights wouldn't really hobble the rest of their reporting, but it would serve no purpose to lose it just to make a point.

I'm not a big fan of anyone - journalists or politicians, who make a good show of asking "tough questions". Sure it'll go viral, but it helps no one.

The media getting to attend press briefings in person is a privilege, not guaranteed by any law, and anyone can be kicked out at any time for no reason. If you think this is bad, you should see what the state dept is upto. Last I heard, they've stopped doing press briefings, and the only journalist traveling with Tillerson to Asia is one (1) rightwing rag guy.

We did fuck up by not legislating many things into place, and trusting the people to elect decent persons.

He thinks its the press's job to be his friend lol. He must be really lonely. Sad!

Sure, under the current culture. It wouldn't start like that though. Authoritarians and dictators first manufacture a crisis to get the people on board. It doesn't even take a majority of the population, just a dedicated and well organized part of it that enjoys being in power and is willing to terrorize the majority into submission.

Never underestimate the danger of fascism. That was the main lesson I took away from my time in Germany pouring over history and visiting the concentration camps. If it can happen to the German people it can certainly happen to us too if we aren't vigilant.

Just use 'unpresidented'. It's definitely a word; I saw it on twitter somewhere so it must be.

Very nicely explained. Kinda the 'give em enough rope' idea.

Trumps lives for the media, eventually he will call them again. Trumo needs the media more than the media needs him and the media is still afraid to stand up to him...

I wonder if the translator in her ear converted it like that. Interesting.

Even if you speak the language of a nation you're visiting, it's common practice for a head of state to still use a translator and to speak in their own language. It prevents the leader from saying they're a jelly donut or letting other people say they said that... also it's a bit of a power dynamic thing, I think.

Is this a joke or are you being serious?

I'm not convinced that he's embarrassed himself at all, but I can say that as an American citizen, he's certainly embarrassed the shit out of me.

No. Don't do that. They do not get a pass.

U.S. reporters shocked when German reporters do their job

He speaks in word salad and lies.

That's some solid writing right there.

I really want someone to ask Spicer, plain and simple,

Do you trust the president?

He stopped taking questions after the presser where he invited Russia to hack us

Currywurst ftw

As fantasies go, this is among my favorites. God, would that be sweet.

Either that or just snapping and launching himself at a reporter. They'll find him hours later gnawing on Robert Acosta's face in an alley, muttering about wiretapping.